Session 12. (14/9/05)

This episode replays the lead up to last week's cliff-hanger ending, but in a classic piece of discontinuity, we see Yoshi (Paul Burton) swim back and drag Mineo (Denzil Brown) through the waves up to the side of the ship. With the ship's crew distracted by the argument between the captain and the senior officers, the four bushi attack.

Miyoshi (Jim Loder) and Yoshi are first into action, landing killing blows on sailor extras. Mineo picks a target and lands a blow, but he doesn't seem fazed - this will not be as quick, Mineo has picked a senior officer (level 2 bushi). Katchamaru (Anthony Hummerston) hangs back until the attackers have got the ship's crew full attention, then casts Stage Flash and blinds half of them. Unfortunately Mineo's opponent is not among them, and despite Mineo's maximum strike he still looks strong. Miyoshi and Yoshi move on to new targets; only Yoshi is close enough to take a swipe and he gets a critical hit on the rabble sailor, stunning him but doing minimal damage.

The four attackers keep fighting but mostly missing - Yoshi and Kachamaru get a hit apiece - while more of the sailors move in to position to fight, but all seven miss due to incompetence, blindness and the heroes' bonus weapon defence. This is repeated in the next round, but the attackers do much better: Yoshi, Kachamaru and Mineo land big hits, Yoshi's finishing his opponent, and then Miyoshi gets a critical hit, killing his rabble opponent in one go, Yoshi gets a hit on his new opponent and kills him, and Kachamaru gets a second big hit and finishes his level 1 bushi opponent.

In the next round, Miyoshi turns on his second foe, a level 1 bushi and lands a big hit. Yoshi goes in search of yet another opponent and finds the other senior officer (level 2 bushi), who hits Yoshi. Mineo lands another big hit on the first senior officer and finally finishes him. Kachamaru takes on a rabble sailor and survives a critical miss only to receive a critical hit from the sailor which leaves him dazed. For the rest of the round everyone misses except Mineo who scores on Kachamaru's foe as he goes past looking for his own opponent, and one of Miyoshi's tormentors who breaks his weapon on a low spar and runs away. In the next round the Ainu-sympathisers score good hits, with Miyoshi and Yoshi hurting their opponents and Kachamaru finishing his. However, Mineo hits his head on the low spar and falls down, stunned. The sailors all fail to land blows; Miyoshi and Kachamaru also fail, and catastrophe strikes Yoshi as he catches his good katana on the low spar and snaps it in two. After a moment staring at it in horror he draws hi good wakizashi and swings angrily at the sailor, without success. One of his opponents hits him but the other, trying to take advantage with an expansive blow, also catches the low spar and it knocks his sword from his hand, forcing him to flee. Meanwhile, Miyoshi hits and kills his enemy and Kachamaru gets two hits on the rabble sailor, killing him. Miyoshi steps up to a new opponent, a level 1 bushi, who is so intimidated that he hits himself for 6 damage.

With the number of sailors dwindling, Mineo lands a critical hit and kills his sailor extra opponent. Yoshi also scores a hit but all other attacks fail. The last seven sailors surround the attackers and most score hits, injuring Yoshi and Mineo and knocking down Kachamaru. All the heroes get moderate hits and Miyoshi follows up with a critical second strike, killing the level 1 bushi.

In all the fighting, the Captain has remained at the rear. As the fighting draws to an end, a great wind blows up, driven by a fast-moving creature flying through the air. After circling the ship a few times it lands on the deck and turns out to be Oynakamuy, incandescent with rage. He draws his dagger, cuts his wife's ropes and says, "You, cursed Wajin! You never know how you would be punished for your ill-deeds. Despising me as a mere Ainu, you have done such a vicious, unforgivable thing. Damnation! Hateful bunch! I have come just to pay you back! After you all die, you'll know who I am!" When he finishes, the Captain and surviving sailors look in awe at the mist that enveloped Oynakamuy, then the Captain falls to his knees saying, "The young God of Ainu! Whatever you said is correct. Indeed, I was the one, the worst of all. Pray save us. I can repay you with whatever you demand." He bows twenty times, thirty times; repeating the words. But Oynakamuy goes down to the hold and makes a large hole in the hull. Taking his wife by one hand, they fly back to shore as a wild wind blows the sinking vessel into deep water.

The heroes waste little time in jumping over the side and swimming ashore. The ship's crew try vainly to repair the hole. By the time they realise it is hopeless they are too far from shore, and go down with the ship far out in the bay. Meanwhile the adventurers aren't having an entirely easy time. Kachamaru remember remembering how to swim and makes good progress back to shore, but the others are floundering. Then Yoshi finds his stroke and speeds right the way back, while Miyoshi paddles slowly back. Mineo is going down for the first time, but somehow manages to get halfway back. Kachamaru reaches the shore, leaving Miyoshi making steady progress. Kachamaru and Yoshi decide to go back and help Mineo, and with their help all four reach the beach safely and rejoin Haku.

When they return to Shikabe, the adventurers find Oynakamuy and his wife back in their house with their son miraculously brought back to life. Oynakamuy somewhat sheepishly admits that he is a god. Miyoshi asks angrily why he sank the ship with them on board, but fortunately for diplomatic relations and Miyoshi's eternal soul Oynakamuy can't understand his language. With the on gained from the fighting and the rescue, all the heroes regain level 2 and respectability.

Source material: http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/ainu/yukara.htm#_Toc19981961

In the weeks following the rescue of Oynakamuy's wife, the ex-wajin resume their training and other tasks. Miyoshi studies senjojutsu, Kachamaru improves swordsmithing, Mineo is taught to swim by an Ainu girl, from whom he also learns some herbalism, while Haku becomes proficient in Ainu language, then studies Schools of Water and Soil and memorises Pure Blood. Kachamaru is by now realising that it will take rather a long time to equip and army with swords just by himself, and even teaching the Ainu will not help enough, so he ponders this a while.

By week 18 in the Year of the Rat the foreigners are feeling settled. One day there is a strong earth tremor, the fourth in five days to be felt in the Ainu lands. This is the strongest so far and several houses are damaged and one partly collapses. The southerners immediately think of dragons, but it seems the Ainu believe that earthquakes are caused by the wriggling of "the fish that is the backbone of the world". Prompted by a message from Chief Koshamain in Mori, Henke, the village headman, calls for brave warriors and hunters to go and kill this giant fish - but no-one volunteers. Haku learns through talking to villagers that the fish lives in Onuma (Large Marsh) Lake - not only do the Ainu fear the marshes, but they particularly fear large lakes because they believe they were scoured out by an enormous fish that now inhabits them. Since Onuma Lake is about 1 Ri long, this would be an impressive fish! The newcomers all volunteer, and a handful of Ainu are shamed into going with them. An Ainu shaman goes with a ritual for calling the fish to the surface.

The journey up to the lake is uneventful, and the party doesn't bother to hunt game so they arrive near the lake by nightfall. After a night camping, the five heroes and five Ainu go down to the water and prepare. The shaman performs his ritual and soon a wake is seen heading towards them. The fish surfaces - a giant pike. It isn't the size of the lake, but at about 30 feet it is still quite impressive. Four bushi and three Ainu fire at it - Yoshi's and Mineo's arrows strike home while the others miss or bounce off its hard scales. Haku casts three Darts of Water but the Pike shrugs them all off while driving up to the water's edge and biting a sizeable chunk out of Mineo. Miyoshi, Mineo and Kachamaru switch to swords and the Ainu switch to spears. Yoshi backs away and continues with his bow, but can't follow the movement and misses. Miyoshi and Kachamaru hit with their swords and one of the Ainu hits with a spear. The pike turns and thrashes back into the water, hitting Mineo for a further 10 (subdual) damage and one of the Ainu for 5. The shaman tries to cast Control Beast, but it isn't working.

Next week: Who will become fish supper?

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